Get Involved
November 2011 Program Memo
Topics Include:Special Olympics Virginia Annual Awards/Recognition Program
Each year, Special Olympics Virginia honors those individuals, volunteers and families whose exemplary support, efforts and embodiment of the spirit of Special Olympics make a significant impact on our program through the Special Olympics Virginia Annual Awards program, presented by Virginia Farm Bureau. Find out more and access the 2011 nomination forms.
All Awards nominations are due by November 22, 2011. Please help us recognize your deserving athletes and volunteers.
New Class of Global Messengers
The Global Messenger Class of 2013 completed their initial training and are anxious to fill Area speaking needs. Please seek out your nearest Global Messenger when you have groups or events that would benefit from their speaking expertise.
| Global Messenger | Mentor |
| Erica Bookout, Area 9 | Shannon Porter |
| Daniel Cashman, Area 14 | Joy Cavagnaro |
| Clayton Caldwell, Area 9 | Stacy Jones |
| Christopher Clark, Area 2 | Charles Clark |
| Ali Manzur, Area 25 | Daniel Holmes |
| Sarah Narburgh, Area 23 | Peggy Van Lowe |
| Kevin Ogletree, Area 26 | Eileen Oviatt |
| Rose Pleskow, Area 26 | Susan Pleskow |
| Zachary Ramsey, Area 31 | Gary Buracker |
| Katy Sanchez, Area 26 | Anthony Sanchez |
| Robert Stowers, Area 6 | Caroline Stowers & Karin Koch |
| Cory Todd, Area 16 | Robin Loyall |
| Shane Weagley, Area 13 | Ken Massie |
Online Principles of Coaching Course
The Online POC Course takes approximately 25 hours to complete, is only $35 to purchase, can be extended to 6 months to take and is designed for the next level beyond entry-level certification. It expands the sport sciences and requires a brief background in working with Special Olympics athletes to provide the necessary experiences in working with this population.
Click here to register.
“I recently finished the Principles of Coaching for Special Olympics course. I have been coaching Special Olympics for almost 5 years, and was surprised to find out how much I could still learn. There was a lot of great information to read through, and then review while taking the quizzes. But my favorite part was that this course made me think. A large part of the written work I did made me analyze my own experience, and think about how I could improve. I want to thank my instructor, Sandy, and WVU for all of their hard work in putting this course together. Just like I do with my Special Olympics athletes, they made me work but it sure was a lot of fun. I would recommend this to any coach that wants to improve their skills and make everything we do, help our athletes want to keep coming back for more.” – Ed Speas, Coach, Forsyth County, SO Georgia
The better the coach ... the better the experiences ... the better the athlete!
Special Olympics Get Into It is an online resource for teachers. The site consists of lessons, activities, videos, athlete stories and supplemental materials. At the core of Get Into It are age-appropriate lessons designed to be taught in the context of class periods. Activities with ties to service learning are completed in a classroom or community setting, as part of a club, an afterschool activity or a community based event and include involvement with local Special Olympics Programs whenever possible. Visit the Get Into It Web site.
Schools across Virginia are launching r-word campaigns to eradicate the use of retard or retarded to mean stupid. Check-out this great video clip about the r-word campaign launched by Liberty University’s entire athletic department. Click here, scroll down to the bottom and choose the last video, segment 4.
We're inviting area programs to CARPE FREEZUM for Special Olympics Virginia! That’s right, registration is now open for four of the coolest events all year -- 2012 Polar Plunge events! Visit http://www.polarplunge.com/ for more information and remember that participating area teams keep 75% of all funds raised for Virginia Beach on February 4, Tim's Rivershore, Hill City/Liberty University and the Highlander/Radford events all on February 25. Polar Plunge team fundraising is an easy area fundraising tool -- there are no overhead costs or event planning logistics. Just sign up your team on http://www.firstgiving.com/polarplungeva, raise funds, earn incentive prizes and have fun in February!
Area fundraising for last year's Virginia Beach event resulted in more than $47,000 in funds for Area 2 and its locals and $22,000 for Area 11! Why not your area, too?! Please refer to the Polar Plunge Winter Festival Area Fundraising Guidelines for important information on how to recruit and register area plungers.
SEIZE THE FREEZE WITH US!
Recoup is a new “deal-of-day” type Web site that offers a charitable donation to Special Olympics Virginia and other participating charities. Click on the following link to learn more or to sign up for email offers http://recoup.com/org/SP139.
Special Olympics Virginia is also participating in two national campaigns with AT&T and Subaru. You can learn more about AT&T’s “yes I can” promotion here.
Subaru’s “Share the Love” campaign kicks off in mid-November. For the first time, Special Olympics will be one of five charities to benefit from this highly successful promotion. Stay tuned for more information on this exciting new partnership!
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